Newsline - March 24, 1997

YELTSIN AND CLINTON AGREE TO DISAGREE ON NATO ... Signaling that
Russia will grudgingly acquiesce in the admission of some East European
countries into NATO, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and his U.S. counterpart
Bill Clinton sharply disagreed on NATO expansion after their 21 March talks but
pledged to forge a new Russia-NATO cooperation agreement, international
agencies reported. Yeltsin said that he continued to view NATO expansion as "a
mistake, and a serious one at that," while Clinton said it would move ahead as
planned. Yeltsin added that to "minimize" its impact, Moscow would conclude a
cooperation agreement with the alliance. He also dropped Moscow's earlier
demand that the agreement be a legally binding international treaty. Instead, a
joint statement said the agreement, to be signed by Yeltsin and the heads of
state of the 16 NATO members, would be "a firm commitment adopted at the
highest political level." -- Scott Parrish

... BUT MOSCOW STILL OPPOSES NATO MEMBERSHIP FOR BALTICS, FORMER SOVIET
REPUBLICS. Russian Foreign Minister Yevgenii Primakov quickly made clear,
however, that Moscow's limited tolerance for NATO expansion does not extend to
the territory of the former Soviet Union, Russian and Western agencies reported
on 22 March. If the Baltic States were to join NATO, he said, it would "shatter
the whole relationship between Russia and NATO" which the new cooperation
agreement will forge. Meanwhile, Yeltsin said Moscow should "guarantee the
Baltic republics' security" to "eliminate" Baltic concerns that "Russia could
repeat its actions of several decades ago." He added that Russia should step up
efforts to "establish contacts" with the Baltics, and "not just complain that
these countries infringe the rights of the Russian-speaking population." --
Scott Parrish

YELTSIN AND CLINTON ON START, ABM, CWC. Yeltsin and Clinton also issued
joint statements on nuclear arms reductions, anti-missile defenses, and the
elimination of chemical weapons, international agencies reported on 21 March.
To facilitate ratification of START II by the Russian Federal Assembly, the two
leaders pledged to open talks on a START III agreement which would reduce
warhead levels on both sides to 2,000-2,500 "immediately" after START II enters
into force. They also agreed to extend the deadline for fully implementing
START II from 2003 to 2007. These initiatives aim to address concerns about
cost and fairness which have been raised by critics in the Russian parliament.
The two presidents also pledged to press for ratification of the 1993 Chemical
Weapons Convention, promised their adherence to the 1972 ABM Treaty, and
ordered their negotiators to complete agreements clarifying its terms. -- Scott
Parrish

ECONOMIC CONCESSIONS ARE FLIMSY. Yeltsin traded acquiescence in NATO
enlargement in return for a number of economic concessions -- an enhanced
status in the G7, $4 billion in U.S. loan guarantees, and U.S. assistance in
joining the Paris Club of official creditors in 1997 and the World Trade
Organization (WTO) in 1998. There is less to these concessions than meets the
eye. U.S. officials initially said on 21 March that Russia will be a full
participant in the Denver "summit of 8" in June, but Japan soon made it clear
that Russia will not join the G7 and will be excluded from the key economic
negotiations. Similarly, U.S. support will do little to accelerate the process
of Russian entry into the WTO. Russia has been trying to get into the WTO (and
its forerunner, GATT) since 1993. It has completed four rounds of complex
negotiations, and was expecting to join the WTO by 1998. -- Peter Rutland

ZYUGANOV BLASTS HELSINKI SUMMIT RESULTS. While Russian Public Television
(ORT) and other pro-government media highlighted Yeltsin's insistence that he
had effectively defended Russian national interests at Helsinki, Communist
leader Gennadii Zyuganov charged that Yeltsin's foreign policy "suffered a
crushing defeat" at the summit. Zyuganov likened Yeltsin's agreements with
Clinton to the 1919 Versailles Treaty, which imposed harsh terms on Germany
after its defeat in World War I. Zyuganov accused Yeltsin of "completely
betraying the national interests of the country," and he expressed doubts that
NATO will fulfill its pledges not to station nuclear weapons in new East
European members and to consult with Moscow on matters of mutual interest. --
Scott Parrish

CHERNOMYRDIN ADDRESSES DUMA. Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin
explained the new government's goals to the State Duma on 21 March, ITAR-TASS
reported. He said the government will regulate the electricity, gas, and rail
monopolies but has no plans to "cut them up into pieces." He pledged the
elimination of tax privileges, which he said cost the budget 160 trillion
rubles ($29 billion) a year. On 22 March Chernomyrdin held a telephone
conference with regional governors, and promised to send them 4 trillion rubles
for state employee wages and 3.45 trillion for pensions before the 27 March
protest action, ORT reported. -- Peter Rutland

NEMTSOV TO LEAVE NIZHNII NOVGOROD POST. First Deputy Prime Minister
Boris Nemtsov announced on 22 March that he will resign his post as Nizhnii
Novgorod governor following his promotion to the federal government. Initially,
he had conditioned his acceptance of the federal job on being able to stay on
as governor, but Russian law prevents holding two such positions. Nemtsov said
that Yeltsin will sign a decree ordering all state officials to use domestic
rather than imported cars, while denying that this was merely a protectionist
measure to help the GAZ factory, the producer of Volga sedans, which is located
in Nizhnii Novgorod, Ekho Moskvy reported. After meeting with Yabloko leader
Grigorii Yavlinskii for two hours, Yavlinskii and Nemtsov decided that Yabloko
members would not join the cabinet, but would provide advice on an informal
basis, ORT reported. -- Robert Orttung

DUMA ROUNDUP. The State Duma on 21 March failed to pass in the third
reading a draft law banning fascist propaganda, instead referring it for
further revisions, Russian media reported. Representatives of the left
opposition, including Legislation Committee Chairman Anatolii Lukyanov, voiced
fears that the law's vague definition of fascism could allow the measure to be
directed against "Russian patriots." On the same day, the Duma passed a
resolution criticizing the government's agricultural policy and specifically
attacking agricultural reforms adopted in Nizhnii Novgorod under the leadership
of Boris Nemtsov. However, the Communist, Agrarian, and Popular Power factions
fell 10 votes short of the majority needed to pass a resolution denouncing as
"vandalism" President Yeltsin's proposal to move Vladimir Lenin's body from the
mausoleum on Red Square to a St. Petersburg cemetery. -- Laura Belin

KRO LEADER WINS DUMA BY-ELECTION. Dmitrii Rogozin, head of the Congress
of Russian Communities (KRO), was elected to the State Duma on 23 March from
Voronezh Oblast, ITAR-TASS reported the next day. Rogozin fills the seat Ivan
Rybkin vacated last October when he was appointed Security Council secretary.
Meanwhile, Nikolai Shaklein, the head of the Kirov Oblast Justice Department,
won a by-election to fill the Duma seat vacated by the Communist Vladimir
Sergeenkov, who was elected governor of Kirov last autumn. -- Laura Belin

OPPOSITION TAKES TWO MORE GOVERNORSHIPS. Former coupmaker Vasilii
Starodubtsev won more than 60% of the vote to sweep Tula's gubernatorial
elections on 23 March, ITAR-TASS reported. Turnout was 58% and the current
governor, Nikolai Sevryugin took third place, following Tsentrgaz Director
Viktor Sokolovskii. Communist-backed Anatolii Belonogov, the chairman of the
regional legislature, won the Amur Oblast repeat gubernatorial elections with
more than 60% of the vote, while incumbent Governor Yurii Lyashko took
approximately 30%. Turnout was just over 52%. An Amur Oblast court canceled the
results of last September's original elections, citing massive forgery. In that
race, Lyashko lost to Belonogov by 189 votes. -- Robert Orttung

EXPLOSIONS IN MOSCOW, NORTH OSSETIYA. A parliamentary aide to Duma
deputy Aleksandr Filatov (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) was killed by a
car bomb in Moscow on 21 March, international agencies reported. Anatolii
Frantsevich was the fifth LDPR parliamentary assistant to be killed since
November 1996. Also on 21 March, three policemen were killed and two others
seriously injured in a land-mine explosion in North Ossetiya, ITAR-TASS and
Reuters reported. A North Ossetiyan Interior Ministry spokesman said he feared
further such incidents as the snow melts and mines are exposed. The area was
the scene of fighting in the 1992 Ingush-Ossetiyan conflict. -- Penny Morvant

POLICE SEIZE STOLEN URANIUM. Police in Berdsk in Novosibirsk Oblast have
seized five kilos of stolen Uranium-235, AFP reported on 22 March citing
Interfax. The uranium, found in the possession of two unemployed men and a
trolleybus maintenance worker, had reportedly been stolen from a metallurgical
plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk in Kazakstan. It is not clear to what degree the
uranium was enriched. In 1994, in the joint U.S.-Kazak operation "Project
Sapphire," about 600 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium were transferred to the
U.S. from the Ulba Metallurgy Plant outside Ust-Kamenogorsk. -- Penny Morvant

COAL CONGRESS PROPOSES CHUBAIS AS COAL COMMISSION HEAD. The All-Russian
Congress of Coal-Industry Workers, meeting in Kemerovo on 21 March, proposed
that Viktor Chernomyrdin appoint First Deputy Prime Minister Anatolii Chubais
head of the government's Interdepartmental Commission on the Socioeconomic
Problems of Mining Regions, ITAR-TASS and RTR reported. Chubais, who attended
the Kemerovo congress (see OMRI Daily Digest, 21 March 1997), headed the
government's coal commission during his previous term in office. Russian media
reports, which generally characterized Chubais' trip to Western Siberia as a
victory for the new first deputy premier, also noted a statement by the leaders
of the two main miners' unions saying that their organizations are planning to
take part in protest rallies but not to go on strike during the 27 March trade
union national day of action. -- Penny Morvant

PARATROOP PROTEST. Officers of the 21st Paratroop Brigade, based in
Stavropol Krai, refused to take part in maneuvers on 23 March until their wage
arrears were paid, NTV reported. The unit's commander denied that his orders
had been disobeyed, but the protest action was verified by the network's local
correspondent. -- Peter Rutland

RUSSIA AND IRAQ SIGN MAJOR OIL DEAL. Russian Fuel and Energy Minister
Petr Rodionov and Iraqi Oil Minister Amer Mohammed Rashid have signed a $3.5
billion contract for the development of the Qurnah oil field in Iraq, whose
proven oil reserves top 1 billion metric tons, ITAR-TASS, AFP and Reuters
reported on 21-22 March. The Russian oil giant LUKoil will get a 52.5% share in
the project, while Iraq will receive 25%. The remaining 22.5% will go to other
Russian firms. AFP and Reuters cited Rodionov as saying the deal will be
implemented independently of the lifting of economic sanctions on Iraq.
However, according to ITAR-TASS, while the preparatory work on the contract
will begin immediately, its actual implementation will only start after the
sanctions are lifted. -- Natalia Gurushina

MORE REACTION TO KOCHARYAN'S APPOINTMENT. A day after the president of
the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Robert Kocharyan, became
Armenia's prime minister, Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev canceled a planned
visit to Pakistan, Reuters reported on 21 March. Observers suggest the move was
connected with Kocharyan's appointment. Speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament
Murtuz Aleskerov, who replaced Aliyev at the summit meeting of the Organization
of the Islamic Conference in Islamabad, said Armenia "has chosen the wrong
path." According to the leader of the opposition National Independence Party,
Etibar Mamedov, the choice of prime minister shows that Nagorno-Karabakh "has
been annexed by Armenia." Reuters quoted Western diplomats in Baku as
suggesting that Ter-Petrossyan's decision signifies that Armenia will take a
tougher stance on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. -- Emil
Danielyan

DPs FROM ABKHAZIA DEMONSTRATE IN TBILISI. Some 7,000 people, primarily
ethnic Georgians forced to flee Abkhazia in 1993, staged a demonstration in
Tbilisi on 21 March to demand the withdrawal from Abkhazia's Gali raion of the
nominally CIS but exclusively Russian peacekeeping force currently deployed
there and Georgia's non-participation in the upcoming CIS summit that is to
debate expanding the peacekeepers' mandate, Segodnya reported on 22
March. The previous day, 10 Georgian parliament deputies from the Abkhazia
faction suspended the hunger strike they began on 2 March to demand the
withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from both Abkhazia and South Ossetiya,
according to AFP. -- Liz Fuller

KAZAKSTANI MARCHERS TURNED BACK WITH PROMISES. Kazakstani police and
local officials dissuaded an estimated 200 protesters from marching 800
kilometers from Kentau to Almaty on 23 March to claim their wage arrears,
ITAR-TASS reported the same day. The march was blocked 15 kilometers outside
Kentau; protesters, many of whom are employed by the Achpolimetal ore-dressing
plant in Kentau, agreed to return to the city after being promised that their
salaries would be paid within three days and that they would receive free food
during this period. -- Lowell Bezanis

AKAYEV ON RUSSIAN LANGUAGE. Speaking at a conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyz
President Askar Akayev called for the Russian language to be accorded official
status, arguing that this would strengthen relations between the country's
ethnic communities, RFE/RL reported on 22 March. His remarks appear aimed at
giving impetus to the Constitutional Court's efforts to amend the 1993
constitution by making Russian an official language along with Kyrgyz. In other
news, an estimated 2,000 students demonstrated in Bishkek on 19 March to
protest plans to revoke their free public transport privileges. The same day
Prime Minister Apas Joumagulov reassured students their privileges would not be
suspended. -- Naryn Idinov and Lowell Bezanis

BELARUS EXPELS U.S. DIPLOMAT. Serge Aleksandrov, first secretary of the
U.S. embassy in Minsk, has been declared persona non grata and asked to leave
the country within 24 hours for taking part in an unsanctioned opposition
demonstration on 23 March, international agencies report. Aleksandrov was
detained for "provocative actions." An embassy spokeswoman said that Western
diplomats often watch protests from the sidelines "to observe the political
situation but not to participate." Belarusian TV claimed Aleksandrov has been
spying for the CIA. Two days earlier, the U.S. cut off its $ 40 million aid to
Belarus because of the country's poor human rights record, Reuters reported on
21 March. U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said that since
nuclear warheads have been removed from Belarus, the U.S. can suspend aid
without compromising its security interests and at the same time send a
"message of opposition" on human rights in that country. -- Sergei
Solodovnikov

POLICE BREAKS UP OPPOSITION RALLY IN MINSK. The demonstration in which
Aleksandrov is reported to have participated took place on 23 March in downtown
Minsk. Some 4,000 people headed for Yakub Kolas square, where an authorized
rally of some 10,000 people was being held to commemorate the 69th anniversary
of the Belarusian Popular Republic, international agencies reported. Scuffles
with police broke out, and several policemen were reported to have been injured
while dispersing the rally with truncheons and tear gas. Some 70 demonstrators
who smashed police car windows with chunks of ice were detained. Civic Union
leader Genadz Karpenka and former Interior Minister Yuri Zakharenka were also
taken into custody. -- Sergei Solodovnikov

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT BLASTS GOVERNMENT FOR POOR PERFORMANCE. Leonid
Kuchma, in his annual address to the parliament and the nation on 21 March,
sharply criticized the performance of Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko's cabinet,
international agencies reported. Kuchma accused the government of inertia,
inconsistency, and incompetence. He also held it responsible for the lack of a
1997 budget and for the wage arrears crisis. He criticized the parliament for
failing to pass legislation to overcome the economic crisis, triggering loud
protests among deputies present. On a brighter note, he praised monetary reform
and noted that speeding up privatization and fighting inflation are the main
economic tasks. -- Oleg Varfolomeyev

RUSSIAN LANGUAGE GETS EQUAL STATUS IN DONBAS. Legislators in Donetsk
Oblast in eastern Ukraine have voted to give the Russian language the same
status as Ukrainian, Ukrainian TV reported on 21 March. The motion was passed
following a discussion of the results of a 1994 poll showing that Russian is
the native language of 67.7% of those living in Donbas. Deputies in Kharkiv
Oblast passed a similar motion last year. Local Ukrainian nationalists have
sent a formal protest to the Donetsk Oblast procurator-general. -- Oleg
Varfolomeyev

LATVIA, RUSSIA CONCLUDE TEXT ON JOINT BORDER. Aivars Vovers, head of the
Latvian delegation to talks on the border with Russia, said the two countries
fully agree on the text delimiting the joint border, BNS reported. He and his
Russian counterpart, Lyudvig Chizhov, met in Riga on 20-21 March. Agreement
still has to be reached on various technical issues. Vovers said that an
Estonian delegation will be invited to the next round of talks, to be held in
Moscow on 26-27 April, to confirm the three-country border crossing agreed on
last summer. -- Saulius Girnius

POLISH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY APPROVES CONSTITUTION. The Sejm and Senate,
meeting in a joint session on 22 March as the National Assembly, voted in favor
of the long-awaited post-communist constitution, Polish media reported. Of the
460 Sejm deputies and 100 senators, 461 voted for the new basic law, 31
against, and five abstained. The previous day, the National Assembly approved
several dozen amendments to the text. President Aleksander Kwasniewski said he
will need only a few days to submit his amendments to the National Assembly,
although he has 60 days in which to do so. Following the National Assembly vote
on the presidential amendments, the constitution will be put to a national
referendum, which is likely to be held on 25 May. Among other things, the new
constitution deprives the president of the right to veto the budget and to have
a say in ministerial appointments. -- Jakub Karpinski

SEJM ADOPTS NEW PENAL CODE. The Sejm has adopted a new penal code,
Polish media reported on 21 March. The new legislation, which replaces the 1969
penal code, abolishes capital punishment and introduces life imprisonment with
the possibility of release after 25 years. It states that journalists may be
required to reveal their sources if a court of law deems that information as
essential. The new penal code also liberalizes regulations on pornography.
Until now, the distribution and possession of pornographic material has been
prohibited. But under the new legislation, the only punishable offenses are
hard pornography and the exposure of children and adults to pornographic
material against their wishes. Justice Minister Leszek Kubicki said that unlike
its predecessor, the new code is "rational." -- Beata Pasek

CZECH GOVERNMENT PARTY ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP. Michael Zantovsky, a
former ambassador to the U.S. and a spokesman for President Vaclav Havel, was
elected chairman of the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) at the ruling coalition
party's congress this weekend, Czech media reported. Ministers Pavel Bratinka,
Jiri Skalicky, and Vladimir Dlouhy were elected deputy chairmen. Zantovsky,
currently a member of the Senate and the head of its Foreign Committee, said he
wants to unite the ODA. Before the congress, two rival factions in the party
had engaged in a power struggle. -- Jiri Pehe

SLOVAK POLITICAL ROUNDUP. Interior Minister Gustav Krajci on 21 March
easily survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote, Slovak media reported. The
opposition holds Krajci responsible for violent police action during the
Culture Ministry sit-in earlier this month. Despite the defeat of the vote, the
opposition vowed to continue its protest. Also on 21 March, European
Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan visited Bratislava, where he warned Slovak Prime
Minister Vladimir Meciar against signing a free trade agreement with Russia. In
other news, a congress of the opposition Democratic Union on 22 March
overwhelmingly elected former Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan as chairman. Former
Chairman Jozef Moravcik opted not to run. The party aims to strengthen
cooperation among Slovakia's pro-democracy parties in order to topple the
government in the fall 1998 parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, a weekend
congress of the Association of Workers -- a junior coalition partner --
reelected Jan Luptak as chairman. -- Sharon Fisher

MECIAR ACKNOWLEDGES SLOVAKIA MAY NOT BE AMONG FIRST NEW NATO MEMBERS.
Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar told a 21 March meeting of the ruling Movement
for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) in the western Slovak town of Trnava that
Slovakia may not be among the first wave of countries invited to join NATO. He
said that "global agreements" between superpowers, not domestic political
problems, were the reason for the delay, CTK reported. He also recommended that
HZDS supporters vote in favor of the country's entry into NATO in the
referendum scheduled for late May. Meciar said his party will not allow the
opposition to "incite people to seek conflicts." He added that he considers
police intervention against actors, opposition politicians, and journalists at
the Culture Ministry earlier this month as "appropriate." The following day,
Meciar left for a five-day official visit to Japan. -- Anna Siskova

HUNGARIAN FARMERS TO SLOW TRAFFIC. Thousands of farmers protesting tax
increases plan to slow traffic throughout the country on 26 March to draw
international attention to what they call the "untenable position of farmers,"
Hungarian media reported on 23 March. The farmers' union, Metesz, has called on
the public to wear a ribbon with Hungary's national colors to show support for
the farmers. It is also encouraging people to join the protest by driving their
cars slowly to the nearest border crossing or to the capital. The union
recently attacked the government's agricultural program as "a ruthlessly
exploitative economic policy pursued by the anti-national liberal-Bolshevik
government." It has also called for the dismissal of the cabinet spokesman, the
minister of agriculture, and "half the cabinet staff." For the past month,
Hungarian farmers have been protesting income and social security tax increases
for private farmers. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

ALBANIAN REFUGEES CONTINUE TO ARRIVE IN ITALY. Three ships carrying more
than 600 refugees arrived in Brindisi on 23-24 March, bringing the total number
of Albanian refugees in Italy to more than 11,000, international media
reported. Five Albanians drowned on 22 March while swimming to an Italian
military vessel near the port of Vlora. The same day, Italian air force planes
brought nearly two tons of medicine and medical equipment to Vlora for the
local hospital, where more than 50 people are suffering from serious gunshot
wounds. In Durres, an Albanian cargo vessel delivered 1,200 tons of flour from
Italy. It was the first delivery in ten days. Italy is also preparing a limited
military operation to escort aid convoys but is waiting for the go-ahead from a
EU meeting in Brussels today. -- Fabian Schmidt

ALBANIAN ROUNDUP. Prime Minister Bashkim Fino met with rebel
officialsfrom Vlora, who told him that police have established order
there. Elsewhere, the border crossing with Greece has been re-opened and bus
services resumed, AFP reported. But several people died in shooting incidents
over the weekend in the south, bringing the number of people killed since the
unrest began to more than 140 and the number of wounded to more than 700.
Officials attributed the latest deaths to confrontations between armed gangs.
Interior Minister Lush Perpali said "police have decided to crack down on the
armed bandits, who are terrorizing the population." He added that "the
situation remains chaotic in several towns where there are murders, looting and
rapes." President Sali Berisha again rejected calls for his resignation, while
in Tirana more than 1,000 people, mostly women and children, demonstrated to
press for an end to the violence. -- Fabian Schmidt

MORE DISCIPLINE IN BOSNIAN SERB LEADERSHIP? The Supreme Council of the
governing Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) held a stormy closed-door session in
Pale on 22 March to discuss recent public disagreements over ties to Belgrade
between Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic and the Serbian member of
the Bosnian joint presidency, Momcilo Krajisnik, Nasa Borba reported on
24 March. Krajisinik has backed the new Pale-Belgrade pact, while Plavsic
opposed it on the grounds that it gives to much power to Serbian President
Slobodan Milosevic in the internal affairs of the Bosnian Serbs. SDS chair
Aleksa Buha said that Council members agreed that in the future the leadership
would decide on thorny issues in private and then be obliged to support those
decisions in public. -- Patrick Moore

UN, CROATIA TO COOPERATE ON TWO-WAY REFUGEE RETURN. Senior UN and
Croatian officials agreed on 21 March to cooperate in returning some 150,000
people displaced by war in Croatia, Reuters reported. They will set up a
working group to plan a "two-way" return allowing 80,000 Croats to go back to
eastern Slavonia, currently held by Serbs, and some 60,000 Serb refugees to
return to their homes in western Croatia. Meanwhile, the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia has sent Croatia a draft treaty offering eastern Slavonia Serbs dual
citizenship once the area reverts to Croatia. Serbs from the region said they
would feel safer if they have dual citizenship. In other news, Belgrade has
handed over to Zagreb some 500 files on missing people whose remains were found
in the town of Vukovar in 1991 after it was taken by rebel Serbs, Reuters
reported. -- Daria Sito Sucic

TWO CATHOLIC CHURCHES BOMBED IN BOSNIA. Two Roman Catholic churches near
the town of Travnik, in central Bosnia, were bombed on 20 and 21 March, AFP
reported. The blasts were the latest in a series of attacks on churches
following the announcement that Pope John Paul II will visit Sarajevo on 13
April. Meanwhile, High Representative for Bosnia Carl Bildt has demanded that
the three Croatian policemen who were given suspended sentences following a
violent incident in western Mostar last month face a retrial, AFP reported.
Bildt described the trial as a "complete mockery and a farce." -- Daria Sito
Sucic

CRACKDOWN ON INDEPENDENT TV IN SERBIA. The Belgrade authorities are
taking steps to drive privately-owned BK Television from the air, AFP and VOA
reported on 24 March. On 20 March, the broadcasts, which had previously reached
60% of Serbia, were restricted to Belgrade and Novi Sad on the grounds that
bills had not been paid. Subsequently, the station's license was called into
question, an approach the regime has often used in order to drive independent
electronic media from the air waves. BK's management has denied the charges.
The real reason for BK's problems is that whereas previously it had offered
pro-regime reporting, it was one of the few domestic media to provide extensive
coverage of the anti-Milosevic protests in recent months. Another reason may be
that wealthy station owner Bogoljub Karic has been mentioned as a possible
candidate against Slobodan Milosevic for the Yugoslav presidency later this
year. -- Patrick Moore

POLICEMAN SHOT IN KOSOVO. An unknown assailant shot at a Serbian
policeman in a cafe in Podujevo, AFP reported on 22 March. The attacker fired
five bullets at Branislav Milovanovic, who was seriously wounded. Since the
beginning of this year, eight people have been killed and seven injured in
terrorist attacks for which the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) has taken
responsibility. Meanwhile, a court has charged 18 ethnic Albanians with
terrorism. Police say that, in recent months, they have arrested 66 people who
are charged with belonging to the UCK or other alleged terrorist groups. --
Fabian Schmidt

MACEDONIAN PREMIER WANTS CONFIDENCE VOTE, EARLY ELECTIONS. Macedonian
Premier Branko Crvenkovski told the parliament on 20 March he would request a
confidence vote in his government, MIC reported. He added that after dealing
with the consequences of the failure of the TAT savings house--in which
opposition leaders claim ministers are enmeshed--he would begin dialogue with
the opposition on electoral reforms and new elections. Crvenkovski refused to
exonerate officials from blame in the scandal and promised to draw up within a
week a program to compensate savers. Meanwhile, Greek Premier Kostas Simitis
said in Bucharest that he intends to travel to Macedonia at "an appropriate
moment," AFP reported on 21 March. Such a visit would mark a significant
improvement in the often tense relations between the two neighbors. Greece is
worried about an influx of Albanian refugees, while Macedonia is concerned
about a possible spread of the anarchy to its own large ethnic Albanian
minority. -- Michael Wyzan and Patrick Moore

ROMANIAN ROUNDUP. Greek Premier Kostas Simitis on 21 March ended a
two-day visit to Romania, Radio Bucharest reported. He and his Romanian
counterpart, Victor Ciorbea, discussed bilateral cooperation and security in
the Balkans. The two premiers agreed that future talks on Balkan security
matters should include Bulgaria. They also called for coordination of efforts
to find a peaceful solution to the Albanian crisis. Meanwhile, addressing the
third session of the Crans Montana Forum in Bucharest on 21 March, Prime
Minister Victor Ciorbea announced new measures to encourage foreign investment
in Romania, Radio Bucharest and international agencies reported. Ciorbea said
investors will soon be free to withdraw profits and that the necessary
legislation will be passed within the next 45 days. -- Michael Shafir

ROMANIAN NATIONALIST LEADER OUSTED. The National Convention of the Party
for Romanian National Unity on 22 March confirmed the ouster of Gheorghe Funar
as president. The party's Central Bureau had removed Funar from that post on 22
February. The convention also elected interim President Valeriu Tabara as
president and removed Funar's main opponent, Ioan Gavra, as secretary-general.
-- Zsolt Mato

ELECTION CAMPAIGN KICKS OFF IN BULGARIA. Tens of thousands of Sofia
citizens attended a United Democratic Forces (ODS) rally on 23 March to launch
the opposition's campaign for next month's parliamentary elections, RFE/RL
reported. This was the first outdoor ODS rally since the January 1997 mass
protests that ousted the Socialists from power. The embattled Socialists
launched their campaign three days earlier, when several thousand, mostly
elderly, people attended a rally in Sofia. According to a poll in
Demokratsiya on 24 March, the ODS has 56-60% support and the Socialists
17-19%. The Euro-Left garnered 5-6%, the Bulgarian Business Bloc 5-6%, and the
Union for National Salvation, which includes the ethnic Turkish Movement for
Rights and Freedom, 4-5%. -- Maria Koinova

WORLD BANK OFFICIALS EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR BULGARIAN REFORMS. The World
Bank will lend Bulgaria $40 million in May for grain purchases and $170 million
in June for social assistance. It will also provide a $170 million Financial
and Enterprise Sector Adjustment Loan in two tranches (June and December),
Demokratsiya reported. These figures were revealed when Premier Stefan
Sofiyanski met on 21 March--his fourth consecutive day in Washington--with
World Bank officials. Meanwhile, Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Industry
Minister Aleksandar Bozhkov told Kapital on 23 March that privatization
in Bulgaria will be "radical [and] total." He said no enterprise will be in
government hands in two years' time. He said there will be no exceptions, not
even for the current rail, telecommunications, electricity, and air transport
monopolies. -- Michael Wyzan and Stefan Krause